Hereinafter, any data that can be placed in a folder of a file-system in a computing device of any kind is referred to as a “file” unless expressly disambiguated where used. Hereinafter, any operation of a computing device configured to cause a local version of a file to include identical content as a remote version of the file is referred to as a “synchronization”, “syncing”, or “sync” activity or operation unless expressly disambiguated where used. A file is said to be “synced” with another file when the two files include identical content.
A local file resides on a computing device on which the file is used by a user. A remote file resides on a computing device or data storage device that is accessible over a data network from the computing device of the user.
For example, a local file may be stored on a user's laptop computer or a smartphone, and a remote file may be stored at a desktop computer or a network attached storage (NAS) at the user's home or at a storage device managed by data storage service.
Often, but not necessarily, a remote file can be stored in a data storage device that is operating in a cloud data processing environment. Users can store individual files or folders in their allotted cloud storage space and retrieve them from one or more computing devices. Users can also share their files stored on the cloud with other users. Generally, a software application—referred to herein as a sync app—operates on a computing device to connect from the computing device to the remote data storage device or service over a data network and synchronize the local and remote files in the folder or folders that are designated for synchronization.
Hereinafter, a reference to a local device is a reference to a computing device of any suitable kind where a local file is stored. Hereinafter, a reference to a remote storage is a reference to a computing device or data storage device of any suitable kind where a remote file is stored.